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New and Old
Episode 2 of Season 3 of War. Enjoy! New and Old The three young cats continue to bicker as we approach. I don't ever remember being anything but nervous for the army. But these three just talk and talk and...great StarClan. "Hello?" Gorsefur steps forward and when the recruits don't shut up, his eyes narrow. "Hey!" They all look up. Briarclaw, the new brain and the only she-cat, has narrow green eyes and white fur with brown splashes. Stormflight looks cocky, his electric blue eyes meeting mine. The other tom, the one Gorsefur didn't remember, looked at Gorsefur, then Shadowsong and Oakclaw with something like awe on his face. He's noticeably younger than the others, his face round and hopeful. "I'm Gorsefur, your new commander. This is the rest of the squad, Shadowsong, Oakclaw, and Brookfall. Names and position?" "Stormflight, warrior," the dark gray tom meows, interrupting Briarclaw who shoots him a glare. "I'm Briarclaw, intelligence," she says, still glaring at the arrogant gray tom. "I'm Grayleaf," the little tom pipes up. "Great," Gorsefur looks a little unsure, but he covers up well. "We'll interview all of you extensively later, but right now we have a mission. Waterstar said you'd have it." he looks at them expectantly. "You know Waterstar?" Grayleaf asks, eyes wide. Briarclaw rolls her eyes. "The mission is to go take care of a sector of the border where a FireClan squad has been getting a little too friendly." "Not very exciting for a first mission." Stormflight mutters. Shadowsong caught Oakclaw's eye and grins. "Exciting enough." Gorsefur nodded, "Still, should be easy. We can warn 'em off and if they don't listen..." Oakclaw and Stormflight had almost the exact smirk on their face which didn't make me anymore confident about the recruits. Gorsefur rubbed his eyes with the back of his paws. He was exhausted. Briarclaw's interview had been short and sweet and he got the sense the she-cat would never waste time. Of course, that didn't make her a viable replacement for Adderscar. Gorsefur had spent most of the trip to the garrison on the border craning his neck, looking into the woods. But no one had any idea where Adderscar was. And then there had been Stormflight. The tom was obviously skilled, but he was so arrogant it practically hurt. Gorsefur had never expected to meet anyone as stubborn, cocky, or antagonistic as Shadowsong or Oakclaw, but it had happened. Since Stormflight was technically replacing Gorsefur, who himself was replacing Badgerstrike, it didn't hurt so much to talk to him. It was also easier to hate him. Gorsefur told himself it didn't have anything to do with the tom's name and all the similarities to Stormpaw, but he knew that wasn't true. He almost got the sense the tom was hiding something. One too many comebacks, one too many flickers in his eye. But nothing the tom said gave anything away, so Gorsefur let it slide, albeit uneasily. Grayleaf was next and Gorsefur expected an easy interview. Besides, Grayleaf was the son of some old friends. The little tom came trotting in and Gorsefur forced himself to wave his tail. "Hey Grayleaf." Grayleaf waved his tail back and sat, eyes bright. "So how old are you now?" he asked. "12 moons." Grayleaf looked nervous for a moment. "I finished my medicine cat training fairly early and given my parents history, they shipped me off here. Your squad specifically." "How are they?" Gorsefur asked, allowing himself to slip back into easier times. "You look like them." Grayleaf looked at his paws, obviously embarrassed. "Dad's doing okay. Mom died a few moons back." Gorsefur felt a hollow pang in his stomach. She had died and he hadn't even known. They had served together on his first squad, and even though they hadn't been close... "I'm sorry, that's awful." Grayleaf shrugged, "She was sick, we knew it would happen." his eyes were pained, but he kept it together. Strong, like his parents. They talked for a while longer about his training and the other missions. And finally Grayleaf got up the courage to ask, "What happened to your last medicine cat?" Gorsefur sighed and stood, pacing. "Her name was Silverflower. She...she was killed when we went to kill Firestar." Grayleaf's eyes widened, "That was you?" Gorsefur nodded, not mentioning that it had been Badgerstrike (or had it been?) who had later turned on them. He turned weary eyes onto Grayleaf, worried the tom would be scared or ask to hear more. "Guess I have big pawsteps to fill," Grayleaf said, nervously, but not afraid. "Don't we all," Gorsefur sighed. "So what do you think of the new cats?" Shadowsong snorted. "What new cats? All I've noticed is that suddenly Adderscar's a girl, Silverflower's a boy, and Gorsefur finally let out a little of that snarkyness out." Oakclaw smirked and looked out over the border. FireClan land didn't look that different from here, but that didn't mean anything. The others were still back at the garrison, but Shadowsong had wanted to patrol. The FireClan squad could be plotting an attack. He loved that about her- her fire and her unwillingness to sit back and let life do what it would. "Seriously, Stormflight is annoying." "You say that because he's just like you." Shadowsong rolled her eyes. "And you," Oakclaw shoved her a little and she purred, shoving him back. There was a rustle and they spun around, claws out. A cat streaked away, towards the woods on the FireClan side. The light pelt marked it as FireClan and Oakclaw sighed. "Spy. Think they heard anything?" "Unless they want to go out with our recruits, I think we're safe." Shadowsong smirked. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" "Probably not." Oakclaw's whiskers twitched. Shadowsong stalked over the border, muttering. But Oakclaw knew it was good natured and he followed after her. I roll and dodge, swiping my claws at all my enemies. They rise around me, claws bristling and I hack and slash, refusing to go down easy. Finally, I stop, panting. The thorn bushes around me lie in tatters and I survey my work. "Look who's climbing up the tree," I mutter. "Brookfall?" I turn to see Gorsefur. He looks heart-breakingly handsome, so much the same and so much different from the last time I saw him. His eyes are still the gold of the sun and his pelt is still slightly lighter than the night, but he looks older. Tired. "Hey," "Decimating the bushes, I see." his whiskers twitch but he still looks hurt. I broke his heart and I don't see how he could forgive me. "Yeah, well. Don't want to embarrass myself in front of the recruits. I'm not the new kit anymore." "Guess not," he looks nostalgic and I sit, motioning for him to come next to me. "What's up? You look...upset," I meow. "Have you ever lost someone, but...not even know that you've lost them? And then you find out and it just hurts, even though it shouldn't?" I look at him, heart-wrenching. "Yeah." "On my first mission, there were these two cats..." he looked wistful. "Shadowsong and Oakclaw?" "No, but they were there. I had...I liked Shadowsong. Oakclaw was just as annoying as he is now, maybe even more." "Spare me," I shudder and Grsefur purrs. "But apparently Grayleaf is their kit. And his mother died." he looked at the ground. "I just...we were friends. We took this camp, Icefall, back from FireClan. It was fantastic, we almost all died." he looks past the trees. "Sounds like a blast." I tease. He purrs and we sit in silence. "I have this weird feeling about Stormflight though," he says, slowly. "Because of your brother?" I ask gently. He shakes his head. "No, just something like...like he's hiding. Something he's ashamed of though, not that he's a spy or something." "Are you sure you're not just looking for something to dislike? Although, I don't think you'd have to look very far with him..." Gorsefur glares at me. "This is why I didn't want to tell you." he fumes. "I'm just trying to help!" I exclaim, getting to my paws. He follows suit and we're glaring at each other, a mouse-length apart. Gorsefur sighs. "When did it get this bad?" "I don't know." I say miserably. "I thought I loved you and it just...I'm not tough or strong like you or Oakclaw or Shadowsong or Adderscar. I'm not good at protecting myself and I think I needed that." "You're strong," he meows before turning and disappearing into the night. "Shadowsong," She looked back. Oakclaw purred. "You smell good." "You're a creeper," she rolled her eyes but smiled a little. "We're almost there I think, I hear voices." "Excellent." "We're spying, not attacking, okay?" Shadowsong tried to sound serious. "At least, not yet." "Sure thing boss," Oakclaw still looked totally moonstruck and Shadowsong turned back around, trying to hide her embarrassment and, as much as she hated to admit, pleasure. Shadowsong peered through the bushes and saw the FireClan cats. Two burly toms, a nervous looking medicine cat type, two lean she-cats whispering together, and a bored looking she-cat she assumed was the second. "There are six, three toms, three she-cats. I don't see the commander. We should go back and tell the others." "Probably." Oakclaw turned and led the way out of the thicket. "Well, we've definitely one-upped them, haven't we." he leaned in and touched noses with Shadowsong who looked at the ground, ears hot. "Let's go back." she turned and started to lead the way out. "Not so fast," a voice rumbled. Shadowsong turned. Oakclaw was crouched between her and a massive ginger tom. He was about as big as the two of them put together and Shadowsong guessed he was the commander. His eyes were electric blue and hauntingly familiar. "Look, big and ugly, there's two of us and one of you." Oakclaw growled. "So move it along." The tom purred and Shadowsong took a step forward. "Oakclaw-" The tom took a few steps forward and Oakclaw leapt, only to be swatted aside. Shadowsong darted forward, "Don't you-" she skidded to a halt as the tom crouched, separating her from Oakclaw. The golden tom lay on his side, curled up in pain. "Redstep told me what she heard. Tell your commander to bring me Stormflight and I'll let your friend go," he bared his teeth. "Why do you want Stormflight?" Shadowsong asked, honestly perplexed. "He's a recruit, he doesn't know anything." "And the only thing you need to know is if you're not on the border by the time the sun rises, I'll kill your friend. Slowly." Shadowsong took a step back. Her head swam with memories- she knew how terrible FireClan could be. Oakclaw still lay crumpled behind the tom and she tried imagining if anyone else had been in his place. Anyone else and maybe she would have tried to fight back. I won't risk him. Shadowsong, who prided herself on her fearlessness, ran. I head back to the garrison, half looking for Gorsefur, half hoping he's not here. I look around the small fort. It was obviously meant to hold more cats, but the only cats here are from our squad. The recruits all huddle together at the far end. The other nests are empty and I wonder where Shadowsong and Oakclaw went. As if to answer my question, Shadowsong pelts into the garrison. She looks frantic, almost like she's been crying. "Shadowsong?" "Where's Gorsefur?!" "I don't know, what's wrong? Where's Oakclaw?" "Stupid, stupid.." she muttered. "If Gorsefur's not here, where's that recruit, Stormwhatsit?" "What's going on?" Suddenly Gorsefur was beside us, his eyes wide with worry. "Oakclaw's been caught," Shadowsong meowed bitterly. "We were spying after one of the FireClan cats was spying on us and their commander, he's huge, and Oakclaw and I tried to fight but he knocked Oakclaw out, he's hurt, and he said he'll kill him unless we hand over that Stormwing recruit." "Why does he want Stormflight?" Gorsefur asked, puzzled. "I don't know!" she explodes. "We can't let FireClan get something that they obviously want..." Gorsefur muses. "And I won't let Oakclaw die." Shadowsong growls. "When are we meeting them?" I ask, struggling to keep the peace. "At the border, before the sun rises." "We can't-" Gorsefur begins. "It's my fault!" Shadowsong yowls. "It's my fault and, Gorsefur, please." she looks at him brokenly and he looks at me. "What's going on?" We all turn to see the three recruits looking at us. Gorsefur looked from Shadowsong, to the recruits, to me. He closed his eyes. The FireClan cats were waiting on the border when we arrived. Shadowsong immediately tenses and Briarclaw looks nearly as nervous as the dark she-cat. This is her first real plan as the intelligence part of the squad and if it didn't work, Oakclaw and maybe even the rest of us will die. Gorsefur looks like a commander. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Stormflight walks on his left, a thin sheet of nerves hidden under his usual arrogant look. We pause, across the border from them and I almost giggle. It feels so crazy. Oakclaw is sandwiched between the commander and a burly white tom. He looks a little rough, but his eyes narrow when he sees us and he shakes his head. Don't do it. "You brought the exchange?" the commander's voice is low and rumbles like a storm. Gorsefur steps forward. "We need to negotiate terms first, Thundercloud. To guarantee the safety of our warrior." He's giving Stormflight time. That was part of the plan. We need to know why this tom wants one of our recruits. Thundercloud doesn't buy it. He nods to the white tom who pins Oakclaw to the ground, claws out. Oakclaw gives a small gasp of pain. Shadowsong starts forward but I push her back. "Don't," I beg, hating this as much as she does. "You have the exchange?" Thundercloud says, slower this time. Gorsefur meets Oakclaw's eyes. Considering Oakclaw's his best friend, he's been handling this well. But now I see the waver. Oakclaw does too. "Gorsefur don't-" he begins, only to yowl in pain as the white tom draws a line of red down his spine. "That's it," Shadowsong growls. She crouches and Gorsefur stands frozen. Thundercloud growls and the white tom lowers a claw to Oakclaw's neck. "Wait!" Stormflight shoves his way to the border, his eyes on Thundercloud. "Wait." They have the same eyes. I realize as the Stormflight glares at the much larger tom. But that's impossible. Thundercloud surveys the younger tom. "So you're Stormflight?" Stormflight nods. "One and only," The tom purrs, though there's no humor in it. "Over the border, now." Gorsefur opens his mouth and Oakclaw struggles, but Stormflight just steps over the border with a cocky smirk. Shadowsong holds her breath behind me. "Excellent." Thundercloud nods at a couple of his warriors and they come forward, shoving Stormflight into FireClan territory. "Let Oakclaw go," Shadowsong growls. One of the she-cats purrs. "As if." Thundercloud turns, "Let's go." The other FireClan cats turn, the white tom yanking Oakclaw to his feet. His startled amber eyes are the last thing we see before they fade back into the dark. Stormflight didn't know when Thundercloud started walking by him, but when he noticed, he stiffened. "Oh, don't be like that." the FireClan tom meowed. "Your mother kept you away long enough, it's time for us to get acquainted. "Leave my mother out of this," Stormflight growled. "Oh how I wish I could," Thundercloud muttered. "She was foolish for allowing you into the army, she must have known this would happen." There was the sound of scuffling and a yelp of pain from Oakclaw from behind them. "Can't you let him go?" Stormflight asked. "What's to keep you from running off then?" Thundercloud shook his head. "You must've inherited some of your mother's weakness, giving yourself up for a cat you hardly know. We'll work that out of you." Stormflight felt a chill. He looked up at the stars, willing to turn to them for the first time in his life. Something winked back at him from the trees and his eyes widened slightly. "You'll make a great FireClan warrior," Thundercloud went on, "Eventually." "I wouldn't count on it," Stormflight retorted, feeling a little more hopeful. FireClan's camp was little more then a glorified ditch. Shadowsong crouched next to me, fuming. She hated this plan, but she was getting to the part she liked. Across from us, I could barely make out Gorsefur's golden eyes peering out from the bushes. Grayleaf and Briarclaw were above us in the trees, armed with stones. It was an odd plan, but it had to work. It had to. Thundercloud enters the clearing with Stormflight next to him. Stormflight had caught my eye when we were traveling here, his hopelessness turning back to confidence as he did. It was endearing. A few more warriors come in, prodding Oakclaw who's bleeding quite a bit more than he had been when we saw him. He looks exhausted and completely demoralized. Shadowsong tenses beside me. The FireClan cats chatter, mostly about how humiliated we must be. Oakclaw is shoved by the edge of the clearing where Gorsefur is and Shadowsong sighs in relief. Stormflight is still by Thundercloud. First it's one stone. Then another. Briarclaw manages to make it look creepier, but Grayleaf is better at hitting cats. Soon, three of the FireClan cats are down, eyes glassy with pain. The other four, including Thundercloud, stalk the clearing, peering into the trees. Briarclaw and Grayleaf don't have long. Oakclaw straightens up, peering around the clearing. Thundercloud notices and growls. "Kill him." Oakclaw struggles to his paws as the two burly toms stalk towards him. I wonder where Gorsefur is, then, just as I realize Shadowsong isn't beside me anymore, she's in the clearing, between Oakclaw and the two toms. She looks furious and terrified and I remember her fear of FireClan, ever since she was captured a few moons ago. Gorsefur is suddenly creeping up behind Thundercloud and Stormflight. To distract the FireClan commander, I join Shadowsong in the clearing, jumping at the two FireClan toms from behind. Thundercloud realizes it's a trap and he wheels on Stormflight, "Come on, we have to go." Stormflight snorts, "You lose Thundercloud. I'm not going anywhere." The white tom swipes at me and I duck, Shadowsong weaving towards me, trying to get away from the other one. Oakclaw stands weakly, trying to come to her aid. Somehow I manage to get on the other side of the white tom and when he tries to turn, I kick out, screeching. He goes down, hard. "Oh gross," I mutter. "Niiiiice," Shadowsong teases. Oakclaw manages a weak purr. The second tom seems to realize he's screwed and he turns to flee, only for Shadowsong to pounce. I turn, not really wanting to see her take revenge. Gorsefur has pounced and he and Thundercloud struggle. The medicine cat starts to go help his commander, then flees. Thundercloud is the only one left. Gorsefur manages to smack Thundercloud on the head and the huge tom goes spiraling away. He turns to Stormflight, "You okay?" "Yeah, dandy." Stormflight mutters. His eyes widen. "Gorsefu-" Gorsefur turns a second too late an Thundercloud slams into him. I pelt for him. "Gorsefur!" Gorsefur claws at Thundercloud's stomach, growling. But Thundercloud plants a massive paw on Gorsefur's throat. He begins to choke and I skid to a halt, next to Stormflight. "I am done playing games." Thunderclap pronounces. "Stormflight, now." Gorsefur's struggles grow weaker and I bite back a shriek. "Okay, okay." Stormflight looks at the FireClan cat, eyes wide. "Let him up, I'm coming." Thundercloud removes his paw and Gorsefur hacks, eyes glassy. "Stormflight," I whisper, "I know you don't know us super well, but you can't-" "Don't follow me," he meows. Then softer, "Don't worry." He pads past Thundercloud and Gorsefur and the FireClan cat follows. Gorsefur tries to get up, but falls, still coughing. Thundercloud turns to survey the clearing. Shadowsong is hunched over Oakclaw, me over Gorsefur. Briarclaw and Grayleaf are in the midst of slithering down their trees. Stormflight turns too. but his claws glint in the rising sun and, as Thundercloud turns, exclaims, ducks, he manages to cut into the FireClan cat's ears. Thundercloud roars in rage and Stormflight dashes forward, biting into the commander's shoulder. Thundercloud howls and shakes, trying to dislodge Stormflight. The gray tom finally lets go and is flung into a tree, his impact making a sickening cracking sound. Thundercloud hisses as Stormflight heaves himself to his feet. "I'll be back. I'll be back and next time you're coming back with me. You can run and run but you are mine." he hobbles into the forest and I resist the urge to follow. Even injured, the massive tom was more than I could chew. "Are you okay?" I called to Stormflight. He shrugged, a smirk already back on his face. But his eyes were dark. Gorsefur had gotten to his paws, winded, but alright. He padded over to where Shadowsong crouched over Oakclaw. "Is he?" "I'm fine," Oakclaw protested weakly. "I totally would've kicked their tails, I was just bored." Gorsefur snorted. "Let's get back over the border." He looked at the recruits. "Great plan Briarclaw. Grayleaf, when we get back you can show us what you've got, and Stormflight...that was something." Stormflight shrugged. "I try." "Alright," Gorsefur sighed, "Let's go home." Shadowsong paced outside the makeshift medicine den. Hurry... Grayleaf finally came out. "You can go see him," he meowed, obviously trying to speak with authority. Shadowsong nodded and padded in. Oakclaw lay on his side. Cobwebs crisscrossed his flank and the sunlight set his fur ablaze. Dried blood spiked his fur up and he seemed to be asleep, though his paws twitched and he let out a little mewl. Is that what I looked like? "Hey," she meowed softly. Then louder. "Hey, kit, wake up." Oakclaw jerked awake and purred. "Hey, Shadowsong." "Hey, you need to stop making such a big deal. You just got taken hostage, big whoop." "You're one to talk," he teased. "When you got back you were all like 'Ah! FireClan!'" Shadowsong purred weakly, staring at the ground. "What's wrong?" Oakclaw asked, worried. His eyes searched hers. "Shadowsong?" "I can't...do this." she whispered, agonized. "What?" "This. Us. I can't..." she squeezed her eyes shut, then blinked them open. "I can't be vulnerable like that. I can't be looking at you and thinking What if they kill him? I can't be one of those she-cats. Look at Silverflower! Look at Brookfall and Gorsefur! Love makes you stupid and then it breaks you. And I'm already too broken." the last word was a whisper. "Well, I'm already stupid-" he started, still joking. She shook her head. "Oakclaw, I love you. And I probably will love you until the day I die. But I can't..." she took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry." "Shadowsong-" "I know, you stood by me when I went missing, but I guess I'm not as strong as you. You win." she turned and left, tears blinding her. Oakclaw was left behind, eyes wide. Muttering, he flopped into his nest and closed his eyes. Stormflight blinked. His eyes in the river did the same and he thought about how terrible genetics were. Some cats looked just like their mothers, some just like their fathers. Some don't look like their parents at all. But he got a dark gray mother and a father with blue eyes and they just combined. No hiding that. He closed his eyes again, imagining what could have happened if it had gone the other way. Oakclaw bleeding out on the rocks or Gorsefur choked to death. Shadowsong wailing or Brookfall screeching. He could have died himself. He closed his eyes again and opened them. The reflection now was a massive ginger tom with bright blue eyes. I'm not like you, he wanted to yowl. He smacked the reflection, soaking himself but making the reflection go away. You are mine. He shivered and glared at the ground. I won't let that happen. Taking a shuddering breath, he tried to dry off, as best he could. He plastered on a cocky smirk and headed back to the garrison. I'll be ready. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics